Last Practice Match v Sydney

[LoveNavy]

Lol. That's quite the string of metaphors you got going there LN. 

Don't mind the odd metaphor. You know what they say.... a picture paints a thousand words. That's me right there being super efficient ?

[ElwoodBlues1]

re: Brisbane vs Geelong and the Cats being worried?..reality is Brisbane have picked up some players who make them better and Ashcroft will probably win the Rising star by the length of the Flemington straight. I think Geelong will miss Selwood more than most think and I fancy our chances against them in Rnd 2....Brisbane are going to be very hard work for all teams imho.

[northernblue]

Generally agree. With the kids, I would probably only play 1 at a time, if it comes to that. I think that's fair on the kid and fair on the senior blokes who may have to help him out during the game. It's one thing to show good form in front of three people in Blacktown, it's quite another in Round 1 in front of what is surely going to be a packed MCG, against quality opposition, with 4 points and the chance to make a good start up for grabs.

As for Geelong, I imagine they may not be worried as such, but I'm sure they would leave nothing to chance and look at that game closely.

Those two kids look at home, play em.

[DJC]

Those two kids look at home, play em.

They both deserve to play in round 1 on form, ability and the ease with which they've adapted to the AFL tempo and pressure.

[Lods]

They both deserve to play in round 1 on form, ability and the ease with which they've adapted to the AFL tempo and pressure.

I didn't see the game so I'm probably being a little cautious.
The thing is...the pressure at Blacktown in a practice match will be a world of difference to what the  players will face in terms of pressure against Richmond at the MCG.

He may very well have great season, but the fact that a player like Gulden can end up with 45 diposals (a dozen more than he's ever had in a 'proper' game) may be indicative of the pressure.

But as I've said, I didn't see it, and the folks in the best position to judge whether the recruits are ready will be the coaches who will have a clear knowledge of what was expected and required of these players in the lead-up to Round 1.

If they are selected it will be a really good sign of faith that these young-uns are ready to go.

[Baggers]

I've watched our game against the Fluffy Ducks twice - sucker for punishment. It was as if the players had a Valium sanger before the game I find myself still perplexed by the performance so drawing any firm conclusions would be perilous, to say the least.

Like everyone else I was buoyed by the efforts from Hollands, Cowan and Cincotta. And they'll no doubt play senior footy (and play well) this year at some time. Although I picked Cowan in my best 22 for round 1, I doubt it'll happen. I think our backline will be Newman, Weiters, Young, Saad, McGovern and Marchbank. Though Doc could very well start in defense. As Pauly wrote I think taking newbies into a big first game of the season could be risky. Maybe 1 (Hollands?) but that'd be it.

After that shocker of a first qtr, we scored 16 times to 13. Missed opportunities sap confidence.

[LP]

I've watched our game against the Fluffy Ducks twice - sucker for punishment. It was as if the players had a Valium sanger before the game I find myself still perplexed by the performance so drawing any firm conclusions would be perilous, to say the least.

Interesting, there is a comonality between the Filth and the Fluffy Duck games.

In my opinion it's a tell about what other clubs think is our weakness, leg speed, and what our strength is, F50!

The Fluffy Ducks stacked their midfield with fast runners, left their bigger bodies like Parker and Heeney forward.

It sort of makes sense, no opposition will wants us to get a clear fast break from the centre if we have BigH and Charlie forward of center. Our F50 setup is the strongest in the competition, so the task from opposition coaches will be to slow down our entries so they can structure up.

Both the Filth and the Fluffy Ducks used fast moving sweepers on a rotation to charge at the fall of the ball so that even if they didn't get it our progress out of the center was slowed.

I didn't see any attempt from Voss to stop this happening, let's hope he has kept his cards close to his chest for the real deal!

[DJC]

I've watched our game against the Fluffy Ducks twice - sucker for punishment. It was as if the players had a Valium sanger before the game I find myself still perplexed by the performance so drawing any firm conclusions would be perilous, to say the least.

Like everyone else I was buoyed by the efforts from Hollands, Cowan and Cincotta. And they'll no doubt play senior footy (and play well) this year at some time. Although I picked Cowan in my best 22 for round 1, I doubt it'll happen. I think our backline will be Newman, Weiters, Young, Saad, McGovern and Marchbank. Though Doc could very well start in defense. As Pauly wrote I think taking newbies into a big first game of the season could be risky. Maybe 1 (Hollands?) but that'd be it.

After that shocker of a first qtr, we scored 16 times to 13. Missed opportunities sap confidence.

Seeing Voss sitting quietly making notes with his biro on a piece of paper suggested to me that he wasn't too concerned ... or had shared the Valium sangers.

The Swans had the benefit of the wind in the first, we copped the downpour in the second, some lesser players got more game time and the changes were done to a script, not in response to the game situation.  It was a practice match.

Apparently Marchy will be good to go for round 1 but will start in the Reserves.  Assuming Docherty will spend time in the midfield, I think our seven main defenders will be Weitering, Saad, Newman, Young, McGovern, Cowan and Cincotta, just ahead of Plowman.

Hollands, Cowan and Cincotta have to start somewhere, so why not round 1?

[LP]

Can we take Hollands and Fisher into Rnd.1?

In terms of mids and utilities Nthmond usually have heavier bodies than us, not sure we can carry too many light weights.

[Professer E]

I'm going into 2023 with the same concerns as 2021, 2022... Player availability and lingering doubts over the same blokes as the past...Ed C, TdK, Plowman, LoB, Fisher.  Too many mistakes or not enough impact.